


All I Want for Christmas

by fictionalheart



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Christmas AU, F/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 06:53:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2841998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalheart/pseuds/fictionalheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Lord Agravaine attempts to get in the way of their relationship in order to protect the future of the family bank, Arthur and Gwen try to reestablish where they stand, and Merlin and Morgana decide to turn things around by putting together a festive evening. </p><p>Modern AU. Arthur/Gwen. Merlin/Morgana.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lyre_Boleyne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyre_Boleyne/gifts), [to_the_library](https://archiveofourown.org/users/to_the_library/gifts).



> For M & R, for standing by me and my Merlin madness over the past few weeks. 
> 
>  
> 
> This is the result of a bunch of different Modern AU ideas that wouldn't leave me alone...

Happy to finally, finally make it home after her double shift at the shop, Gwen tosses her bag onto her armchair and curls up on her bed, feet dangling off the side so her boots won’t touch the duvet. She knows she should get up to take them off and change, but she’s so tired she just wants one minute to close her eyes and hope the ache of standing on her feet all day will leave her.

Turning onto her back, she sighs, amazed at how much softer the bed feels after a ten hour shift, and wonders whether she can turn one minute into ten and nap when the door opens and Merlin bursts into her room.

“Gwen!! Good, you’re home. Morgana just rang. She’s stopping by with takeaway in a bit.”

Gwen sits up, running her hand through her now unruly curls. “Is she okay?”

Merlin beams at her. “Yep! We did a volunteer shift at the animal shelter this morning, and she wants to pick up Aithusa.”

“Who?!”

He reaches down into an emerald green carrier that she hadn’t noticed was sitting at his feet. “This little darling!”

Gwen shrieks at the hairless, four-legged creature in his hands, wondering if she had in fact fallen asleep and into a very odd dream. “What _is_ that?”

“Tsk. Not what, _who_?” 

“No, seriously _what_ is that?”

Merlin looks from side to side and shakes his head slightly. “Aithusa is a sphinx cat, Gwen.”

She squeezes her eyes shut and sighs. “And why does Morgana have a sphinx cat?”

“Because she’s adorable,” Merlin deadpans before smiling at the cat and tickling it between its ears, "and was found abandoned in a bin outside of the shelter and we couldn’t just leave her. The shelter didn’t even want her."

Gwen stands and moves closer to the cat. “I suppose she is kind of cute.” She reaches out a hand towards the animal but quickly pulls it back when it hisses at her. “If not very friendly.”

“That’s odd. She hasn’t done that to us. Have you, Aithusa?” he questions the cat and starts making baby noises, oblivious to the amusement on Gwen’s face.

“Please tell me Aithusa is going to be living with Morgana?”

Merlin pouts. “Don’t you like her?”

Gwen gives the cat another look and tentatively tries to stroke it, but it reaches out a wrinkly paw and scratches her before she can give it another chance. “I'm glad you and Morgana are giving her a home, but regardless of how I feel, I don’t think she likes me.” She cringes, examining the shallow cut on her hand. “When is Morgana coming over?”

“In about an hour, but we told Arthur to be here around seven.”

Blood rushes to her cheeks at the mention, even as she wills herself to keep her expression calm. “You did what?”

Merlin looks at her with slightly widened eyes, giving off the overly-innocent expression she knows only too well, as he slowly repeats himself, “We told Arthur to be here around seven.”

Gwen nods and looks away, clearing her throat. "Is he coming alone?"

Merlin nods, giving her his best reassuring smile. "You know he only has eyes for you."

She flushes at that, thinking back to their meeting the night before last, when she’d finally explained the whole ordeal with Lancelot. “I’m not sure I deserve that.”

“Yes, you do, Gwen. In no way were you at fault for what happened.”

“I know, but I still hurt him. I didn’t know I was drugged when he caught us kissing, and he certainly didn’t know.”

“No, but he does now, and he’s sorry, so so sorry.”

She nods, looking down and fidgeting with her sleeve. “I miss him so much, Merlin.”

“I know, and truly, Gwen, I know he misses you more than he can bring himself to say. He’s been a right pain.”

“I’m sorry you’ve been in the middle of all of this.”

“It’s been my pleasure.”

She frowns.

“Well not my pleasure, but I’ve been happy to help. I doubt you and Arthur would be talking again if it wasn’t for me and Morgana.”

Gwen smiles, mouth still closed and the memories of the past few, miserable weeks running through her mind. "Thank you, Merlin.”

“You’re welcome.”

Merlin spreads his arms, Aithusa still tucked into one side, and she steps in to quickly hug him but jumps back as a loud hiss echoes in her ear. “She really doesn’t like me.”

“I don’t understand it.”

“Maybe she’s just bonded to you and Morgana.”

Merlin nods. “I’m sure she’ll warm up to her Auntie Gwen before long.” Gwen clears her throat, and Merlin readopts his normal speaking voice. “I wonder what Arthur’s going to say when he sees her.”

“Ha. I doubt he’s going to take to her right away. I don’t see him as much of a cat person.” She pauses, worrying her lip. “I just hope tonight won’t be awkward.”

“It won’t be. I promise. You can both help me wrap Morgana’s Christmas present.”

Gwen smiles, grateful for Merlin’s relentless efforts to smooth things over between her and Arthur. “What did you get her?”

“I _made_ her gift!” Merlin beams and puts Aithusa back in her carrier.

“Can I see?”

“You’ll see when Arthur gets here.” He smirks. “Speaking of which, we need to get you ready.”

Gwen groans. “No, Merlin, I’m not changing.”

“But, you’re wearing lavender, and we’re being festive tonight!”

“I thought we were just having curry.”

Merlin nods, eyes wide. “And then we’re going to go pick out a Christmas tree! and decorate! and watch Christmas films!”

“All tonight?”

“Yes!”

Gwen sighs, thinking of the long bath she’d planned to take and the night of pyjamas that was not to be. “How much time do I have?”

“About twenty minutes. You go shower, and I’ll pick out your clothes.”

“I can dress myself, Merlin.”

“Yeeees, but you can save time this way. And anyway, Morgana told me what she wants you to wear.”

She feels her brows shoot up before she can even answer.

“She has a specific colour scheme she wants us to stick to,” Merlin elaborates, walking towards her wardrobe.

“She doesn’t want us to dress up as elves again, does she?”

Merlin flushes, and Gwen can’t blame him. The hat Morgana had made him had been exceptionally memorable. And plume-y.  “No. No. That was a one-time thing. She knows we’re never doing that again, not even for another charity show.”

“Good, because I don’t think Arthur would comply this time.” Arthur’s costume hadn’t been much better, covered in green and gold tassels.

Merlin shakes his head. “I don’t think I would either.”

She bursts out laughing as he shudders, and she wonders whether she can find photos of the event from last Christmas.

“What does she want this year, then?”

Merlin smirks. “You’ll see. Go on.”

Shooting him a skeptical look, she pulls off her boots and heads towards her en-suite. “Just promise me there won’t be any tassels involved.” The not-so-subtle smell of gingerbread hits her as she opens the door. “Merlin?! Why does it smell like a Christmas bakery in here?”

“Embrace the festive spirit, Gwen.”

She turns, hand posed on her hip. “What did I say about going into my bathroom?!”

Merlin shrugs. “It wasn’t me! Morgana went through the whole flat when she was here this morning. I found peppermint sticks in my pencil jar when I tried to get to work earlier.”

Softly shaking her head, she shuts the door and hopes that the evening won’t be a total disaster.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With many thanks to R for being my sounding board. <3

Deciding she has time to soak in the tub for a couple of minutes, Gwen sinks into the water and lets the glittery, gingerbread scented bubbles wash over her, shaking her head at Morgana and Merlin’s antics.

Annoyance at the glitter aside, she’s extremely thankful for the pair. They’d gone out of their way to fix things between her and Arthur ever since that night at the Camelot gala, doing everything in their power to bring Agravaine’s actions to light and bring their best friends back together.

Morgana had found Gwen in tears after Arthur had stormed off and had sensed that more than the kiss with Lancelot and the confrontation with Arthur had shaken her nerves. She’d sent Merlin to find Gwen’s drink, and sure enough, they’d found that it was laced with a sophisticated date rape drug.

Merlin had bundled her up and taken her to the infirmary, while Morgana had gone to wage war with her uncle, only to find that Agravaine had taken off after Arthur and taken Lancelot with him. She’d raced off to her and Arthur’s flat to confront her brother, only to find that he’d packed a bag and left.

Together, they’d filed a report against Agravaine, and Lancelot had resurfaced several days later, eye still black from where Arthur had socked him and consumed by guilt, to corroborate their claims. He’d insisted that he hadn’t known that Gwen had been drugged, but that Agravaine had spent the evening of the gala telling him that all was over between Arthur and Gwen and that he’d called him back to London because she’d been telling everyone she wanted to be with Lancelot.

Remembering the two weeks of avoidance and guilt, a new burst of anger spreads through her, and Gwen reaches for her bathrobe. The glittery bathwater runs down the drain, and she decides that she’s done with feeling guilty for falling for the attack.

Earlier in the week, Morgana had flown to Switzerland after finally tracking Arthur down to a chalet in Gstaad and had explained the entire situation to him. Gwen had come home to find Arthur at her doorstep the following day, masses of flowers and apologies in hand. They’d talked it all out, and though there was still some awkwardness between them, she had no doubt that it was only a matter of time until things went back to normal.

Patting her face dry, she reapplies a teeny bit of mascara and considers her reflection. Her eyes are still a bit puffy, so she adds a bit of concealer and the tiniest bit of eye shadow, thinking the extra, festive sparkle will make Morgana happy, and runs her hand through her hair before deciding to put it up in a bun.

Checking her reflection one last time, she steps into her bedroom and finds a burgundy jumper laid out on her bed beside her softest pair of jeans. Tiny gold sequins are tastefully woven through the material of the jumper, and she silently thanks Morgana for being in one of her less adventurous moods.

The doorbell rings just as she finishes changing, and she catches Arthur’s shriek as she shuts the door to her room.

“What _is_ that?”

“It’s a cat, Arthur. Honestly!”

“That is not a _cat_ , Merlin. In what universe is that a cat?!”

“In this universe, Arthur. I dare you to tell Morgana Aithusa isn’t a cat.”

“Why would Morgana get offended over that?”

“Because she’s Morgana’s cat.”

“No. You mean that _thing_ is going to live in my flat?”

Gwen steps into the room and catches Merlin smirking. “Yep.”

“No.”

Merlin beams. “Oh, yes. She’s taking her home tonight.”

Arthur sits down on the sofa and puts his head into his hands, groaning. “Why can’t you keep her here?”

“Because she hates Gwen.”

“Oi!” she interjects, making her presence known. “Hate is a bit much.”

Merlin raises his brows. “Would you like to try petting her again?”

Gwen crouches down next to the carrier and reaches out to be met with an even louder hiss than before.

Arthur shakes his head from his spot on the sofa. “You see! It’s possessed.”

“Just because she keeps hissing at Gwen doesn’t mean she’s possessed.”

“Yes, it does.”

“I’m offended, Arthur.” Merlin crouches down and picks Aithusa up into his arms. “ _We_ are offended.”

“Merlin, are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Gwen asks, frowning at her friend.

Merlin sniffs. “I’m perfectly alright.”

Arthur meets her gaze and rolls his eyes, and she struggles to suppress the smile that bursts forth anyway. “He claims to have perfected his eggnog recipe.”

“Ah. That explains it then.”  She nods and goes to sit beside Arthur. “Hi.”

“Hello.” He gives her the shy smile she’d so missed, and she feels the tension melt away when he dips his head to kiss her on the cheek.

“Aww, would you look at the two of you! It warms my heart.”

Gwen looks up to find Merlin staring down at them, one hand on his chest and the other wrapped around Aithusa, and sighs.

Arthur squeezes her hand and then stands, grabbing his friend by the arm. “Come on Merlin, let’s get you hydrated before Morgana gets here!”

“I am hydrated!”

“With something other than eggnog.”

Gwen snuggles further into the sofa, deciding this is the only moment she’s going to get to rest for the rest of the evening, and calls out, “Then you can show us your present for Morgana!”

“Oh yes! You’re going to love it!”

 

* * *

 

Gwen finds herself dozing off when Merlin bounds into the room minutes later, struggling to carry a giant wooden structure, covered in bits of carpet and shaped like a castle.

“Look, Gwen!”

She sits up and spots Arthur walking into the room behind him, shaking his head at their friend.

“It’s Morgana’s present!” Merlin elaborates, putting the structure down on the carpet.

“What is it?”

Merlin looks at her expectantly. “It’s a castle.”

“I can see _that_ , but what’s it for?”

Arthur leans against the side of the sofa. “It’s for _Aithusa_.”

Gwen frowns and turns back towards Merlin. “I thought you adopted Aithusa this morning.”

“We did!”

“And you built this today?”

Merlin nods, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“How?! You must have been home for what? four hours? before I got home?"

Merlin shrugs, looking down at Aithusa.

Arthur slides down and sits beside her. “I’m starting to think he has magical powers he hasn’t told us about.”

Gwen laughs, shaking her head. “I doubt his half of the flat would be as messy as it is if he did.”

“You have a point.” Arthur nods, visibly struggling to keep a straight face.

“Oi! That isn’t very nice.” Merlin sniffs, looking back down at the castle. “Don’t you like it?”

“No.”

“Arthur!” Gwen swats him on the arm before turning back to their friend. “It’s lovely, Merlin. I’m sure they’ll both love it.”

“I’m going to have to carry that back home tonight, aren’t I?” Arthur groans.

Merlin nods, smirking.

“I thought it was supposed to be her Christmas present?” Gwen asks.

“Well, it’s more of a pre-Christmas present. It wouldn’t be fair to make Aithusa wait to play in it, especially now that she’s seen it.”

Arthur shakes his head. “I’m sure she would be mortally offended if you made her _wait_. Have the two of you thought of getting a flat of your own?”

“Gwen and I already share a flat, Arthur.”

Arthur sighs. “I meant you and Morgana… and your alien cat.”

Merlin blushes and looks away. “It’s a bit early for that.”

“You’ve been together for over a year.”

“We -”

Gwen shoots Arthur a warning glance as Merlin goes quiet. “Come on, we should start wrapping if we want to be done by the time Morgana gets here.”

Merlin mouths a thank you, and Gwen smiles, thinking there might be hope for their evening after all.


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m just going to lie down for a second.” Merlin plops down on the sofa and closes his eyes. “Don’t mind me.” Aithusa jumps onto his chest and the pair fall asleep almost instantly.

Arthur shakes his head and moves to sit on the floor beside Gwen where she’s still struggling to put the final touches on Morgana’s present.  “Typical. He could never hold his drink.”

“He’s had a long day, Arthur. Can you hand me the scissors, please?”

Arthur reaches for them. “And you haven’t?”

Gwen shrugs. “I don’t mind.”

“I saw you nodding off earlier.”

“You know what shops are like at this time of year, and I woke up early to work on my thesis.”

Arthur nods. “Are you working tomorrow?”

“No. I’ve done a double shift every day this week so I could have the weekend off.”

“Good, then we’ll have to make the most of the weekend.”

“Will we?”

Arthur smiles at her, but his gaze grows sadder until he looks down and begins to play with the edge of the carpet. “I’m sorry, Gwen.”

“Arthur, we’ve been over this.”

“I know, but I was awful to you, Gwen. I reacted emotionally, and I failed you.”

“Arthur -”

“No, I did. I trust you more than anyone, and I still let my mind jump to a place it never should have gone, and I’m so, so sorry, Gwen. I’m going to spend a long time making it up to you.”

“You don’t have to do that. It’s not like you didn’t suffer, too.”

“And that was my own fault. Those ten days without you were horrible. I never want to be without you like that, again, and I was so stupid to let that happen at all.”

“Arthur, what happened may not have been my fault, but it certainly wasn’t yours, either. You need to stop carrying the weight of everything that happens on your shoulders.”

“It was, though. I reacted horribly, and it never would have happened at all if it hadn’t been for me.”

Frowning, Gwen objects, “It was _Agravaine_ who drugged my drink.”

He gives a curt nod and continues, “And he’s my uncle, and you never would have had anything to do with him if it hadn’t been for me.”

“ _Arthur_.”

He shakes his head, picking on a loose thread at his feet. “I found him this afternoon. He was holed up in Mum’s old cottage. He confessed to everything, and my lawyer’s taking the whole thing in hand. He’ll be indicted, and I made it clear that I never want to have anything to do with him ever again.”

Gwen nods, frowning. “Did he say why he did it?”

Arthur looks away and his face muscles visibly contort as he struggles to answer.

She reaches out and grips his upper arm. “Arthur?”

He doesn’t turn to look back at her, but places his hand over hers, squeezing lightly. “He said you weren’t an _appropriate_ match for me and that my parents would have wanted for me to marry into another of the banking families to strengthen business relations. He said he had to take matters into his own hands.” His voice dips at the last part of the sentence, and Gwen feels her heart begin to race as he continues.

“Who said anything about _marriage_?” Merlin mumbles from the sofa, reminding them of his presence.

“Merlin!” Arthur turns to glare at him, and Gwen jumps back, startled by their friend’s interruption.

“Sorry! All of your talking woke me up. I’ll just… I’ll go ring Morgana, shall I?”

“Please do,” Arthur confirms, annoyance dripping through his words.

Gwen worries her lip as Merlin dashes out of the room and slams the door to his bedroom in the rush, and looks back to find Arthur watching her with great attention. She swallows and forces herself to echo Merlin, “Why was Agravaine talking about marriage, though?”

Arthur doesn’t look away as he answers and determination rings in his voice, “Because I asked him for my mother’s ring. I was going to propose the night of the gala.”

“Arthur…” Blood rushes to Gwen’s ears as she considers her reply, but she barely has time to think before the door to Merlin’s bedroom opens and their friend bursts into the room, beaming.

“You were going to propose?!!”

“MERLIN!! I thought you were calling Morgana?”

“I was!” He holds up his phone. “Did you think we weren’t going to listen in after you mentioned _marriage_?”

Arthur growls and stands up, holding out a hand that Gwen gladly accepts, barely feeling her legs as she gets to her feet. “I swear the two of you have no boundaries.”

Gwen squeezes his hand and turns towards Merlin. “ _We_ are going up to the roof until Morgana arrives.”

Merlin nods and goes to get his coat.

“No, Merlin. Arthur and I are going up to the roof. You are going to stay here.” She gestures towards his phone. “And that applies to Morgana, too.”

Merlin shakes his head. “Rude. After all we’ve done for you, Gwen.” She gives him a pointed look, and he goes quiet. “Sorry. I’ll stay here and set the table, shall I?”

“Thank you, Merlin. We’ll make it up to you later.” She moves to the coat stand and pulls on her pea coat as Arthur does the same. She offers him one hand and reaches for the door handle with the other. “Shall we?”

* * *

 

“I’m sorry about that.”

A nervous laugh bubbles out before she can help it. “What did I say about apologizing for others?”

“Sorry.”  
  
“Arthur!”

She looks at him pointedly, still laughing, and he shakes his head and smiles. “Old habits…”

She smiles and swings their joined hands. “I’m glad Merlin overheard.” Arthur frowns, and she continues before he can interrupt, “He and Morgana have been amazing. They deserved to know.”

“They were eventually going to know, anyway.”

“You were really going to propose?”

Arthur nods. “I was, and I’m still going to.”

“Arthur…”

“I’m sorry.” He smiles as she nudges him. “I know it should be a surprise, but I need you to know.”

She beams at him, even as she feels her eyes begin to sting. “I’m glad you told me.”

“Yeah?

She nods, and the tears begin to overflow. “I love you so very much, Arthur."

He dips his head to capture her lips with his and draws out the kiss so that she forgets that she’d begun to cry. They brush their noses together as they pull away, and she beams at him.

Arthur looks happier than she’s seen him since before Uther was taken to the hospital, and she plants another kiss to his lips.

“I missed you, Gwen. Promise we’ll never be apart like that again.” 

“I promise.” She squeezes his hand and jumps at the sound of Morgana hollering at them from the street below. She shakes her head and laughs at her best friend's enthusiasm. “We should go back down.”

“What do we tell them?”

Gwen beams up at him. “Absolutely nothing.”  


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was hoping to finish this yesterday, but actual Christmas stuff and Christmas specials got in the way, so I'm afraid I'm drawing this out for another day or so. I'm letting this write itself as a bit of a therapeutic writing exercise, so I'm not exactly sure, but I think we're at the halfway point now. 
> 
> Again, this is un-beta'ed, so all mistakes are mine.

“So?!!” Morgana appears in front of them, coat undone and hair swept under a red hat that looked suspiciously like it had been stolen from Father Christmas. She bounces on the spot and blocks the stairs by Gwen and Merlin’s flat. “Are you engaged? Are we going to be sisters?”

She stares at them expectantly, all smiles, and Arthur looks from Gwen to Morgana and deadpans, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, be that way. Gwen?!” Morgana turns towards her, but Gwen coyly shrugs.

“There’s nothing to tell, Morgana.”

“Nothing?” Morgana looks between them, narrowing her eyes, and deflates at their neutral expressions. “I suppose Merlin and I will have to change that, then.” She smirks, and her eyes light up the slightest bit. “Have you met Aithusa yet?” 

Arthur shakes his head but smiles at his stepsister. “We have had the... pleasure, yes.”

“Isn’t she adorable?”

“I’m not quite sure I’d go with ‘adorable.’ ‘Frightening’, maybe."

Morgana pouts, stepping aside to allow Gwen to unlock the door. “That isn’t fair. She’s -” 

Aithusa dives off the kitchen counter as the door opens and leaps down the corridor and straight onto Morgana’s shoulder, purring. “You see! She’s adorable!” Morgana hands the bag filled with takeaway to Arthur and scoops the cat into her arms.

“To you, maybe. She hates Gwen.” 

Gwen shrugs and takes the food from Arthur and reaches for the plates Merlin had failed to set out. “She won’t let me near her.”

“She’s possessed!” Arthur repeats his earlier judgement.

Morgana rolls her eyes and affectionately scratches the cat between her ears. “Don’t you listen to your Uncle Arthur. He’s besotted with your Aunty Gwen and doesn’t understand that you need to warm to people.”

Aithusa purrs in response and Arthur shakes his head. “I don’t understand why both you and Merlin are speaking to it like it’s a child.”

“‘She’, Arthur, not ‘it’, and she is like a child. She needs to be spoken to and reassured that she’s loved. Even by you.”

Gwen watches in amusement as Arthur’s eyes widen at his sister’s words. “She does have a point, Arthur. Don’t you remember what you were like with Baxter, back in the day?” 

“That was different. Baxter was a _dog_.”   

Morgana rolls her eyes at her brother. “And Aithusa is a cat. It’s not that different, Arthur.”

“Actually, it’s…”

“Soooooo?!” Merlin bounds into the room, beaming and looking far more energetic than he had before they’d left. 

“Apparently, they have nothing to tell us.” Morgana shakes her head at the pair of them.

“That can’t be. They were all lovey dovey before they rudely retired to the roof.”

“We were not… _lovey dovey_ ,” Arthur objects, frowning at the term.

“You kind of were,” Merlin insists, before turning towards Morgana. “He was doing that thing where his eyes get all sparkly and he starts to look like a puppy.”

“Oi! I do not look like a puppy.”

Gwen pats him on the arm. “You kind of do, but if it’s of any consolation, I think it’s adorable.”

Arthur’s gaze softens, and he begins to smile.

“See, like that!” Merlin exclaims.

Morgana snorts. “He looks like that whenever he looks at Gwen. That’s nothing new.” 

“They were talking about _marriage_.”

Morgana shakes her head. “And yet they have _nothing_ to tell us.”

“I thought you were _asleep_ ,” Arthur mutters.

Merlin shrugs. “You’d be surprised by the things I manage to hear when I’m asleep.” 

“We were talking about _Agravaine_ , who I found this afternoon, by the way.”

Morgana sobers up at that. “Did he confess?”

Arthur nods. “He’ll be formally indicted in the morning.” 

“Good.”

“I’ll need you to meet with Gaius with me on Monday morning. I’ve revoked Agravaine’s title at the bank, and we need to discuss how we’re going to restructure.”

Gwen flushes. “You’re going through such trouble.”

“Oh, no he isn’t!” Morgana interjects before Arthur can answer. “Believe me when I say this is a long-awaited moment for us all. I’m convinced Agravaine’s been leaking bank secrets to rivals for months.”

Arthur grumbles, “I can’t believe I didn’t believe you when you first suggested he was the source." 

Morgana begins to smirk but then thinks better of it. “Well, now you know to listen to me next time.” She picks up her plate and moves towards the tiny kitchen table. “What are you thinking of doing now, then?”

“I know you don’t want to play an active role in the bank with the way things stand, but I have an idea that might benefit all of us.”

Merlin raises his brow. “All of us?”

“Yes.” Arthur nods solemnly. “You’re finishing your thesis soon, and Gwen only has a few more months to go, and I think Albion would benefit from having both of you on board.”

“What are you suggesting?” 

“I want the bank to go in a different direction, away from what Agravaine and my father were working towards. I want us to devote more resources to charitable projects and create a department that does nothing but. I know Morgana’s been introducing you to all of her UN friends, Gwen, but I would be honoured if you would head up the department. I think you’d make more of a difference than anyone else. And Merlin, as absolutely awful as you are as my assistant, I think you’d be better suited applying your work on strategy and ethics to the organization as a whole and serving in a more directorial position. I don’t want either of you to give me an answer right now, but the positions are yours if you want them, and I’d be honoured if you would consider them.” 

Gwen nods, smiling at Arthur from across the table. “I’ll give it serious thought.” She has much more to say to him, but doesn’t want to broach the topic in front of their friends.

“Do you really think we’d be qualified?” Merlin asks, beaming.

“Much more competent than the idiots he has now,” Morgana affirms. “Arthur, I think this is the best idea you’ve had a long time.” She stands. “I think this calls for champagne, don’t you?”

“I don’t think we have champagne…”

“Oh, but I do.” Morgana pulls a chilled bottle out of her bag, proudly holding it up to display the sprig of holly she’d tied to it. 

“I’m not even going to ask.” Gwen gets up to get their glasses.

“I’m embracing the holiday spirit, Gwen! Everything is going to be festive, tonight.” 

“What I don’t understand,” Arthur interjects, “is why we’re having curry if we’re meant to be embracing the Christmas spirit.”

“Because, Arthur,” Merlin explains, “it’s comfort food, and everything comforting is festive.”

Morgana nods gravely. “And besides, it’s my favourite.”

Gwen softly shakes her head at her friends. “So what do we do next?”

“We drink, and then we go to pick out our Christmas trees.”

“ _Trees_?” 

“We’re getting a tree for each of us!” Merlin chimes in. 

“Why?” 

Morgana sighs. “Because we can, and because Merlin said you have a ridiculous amount of decorations stowed away, and because Arthur got over-excited when I mentioned it earlier.” She lowers her voice and turns towards Gwen, “He’s never decorated a tree before.”

“Morgana! I said that was to stay between us.” Arthur’s cheeks redden, and Merlin starts laughing.

“Honestly, Arthur, it’s nothing to be ashamed of!” Morgana insists. “The point of the evening is to do all the holiday things we’ve always wanted to do.”

“So, four trees?” Gwen asks. 

“Four trees.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With a little extra Gwaine for Rory. ;)

“Arthur?” Gwen tugs on Arthur’s hand, pulling him back so that they trail behind Merlin and Morgana on the way to the Christmas tree lot.

Arthur turns to face her with concern, and she laces their fingers together, giving him a small smile. The last thing she wants is to fill him with more doubt, but the details of his business proposition weigh heavy on her mind, and she needs to address them before they ruin the rest of their outing.

“About what you said earlier… about Albion. I’m proud of you for wanting to change things and do what you think is right. So very proud, Arthur, especially after your father stopped you from starting a similar project last year.” She pauses as Arthur’s frown deepens, but then speeds up as she forces herself to continue, “... but I need to know why you’re offering me the job? Why you aren’t calling on someone more experienced?”

Arthur frowns. “Because I think you’d be amazing at it.”

“You aren’t offering it to me because you want to make up for recent events?”

“What?! No!”

She nods and wills herself to ask one last question before she loses her nerve, needing to know, “And you aren’t nepotistically offering it to me because you’re planning to propose one day?”

“No! Gwen, I’m offering it to _you_ because you’ve always given me invaluable advice that’s helped me to make the best possible decisions, and because I’ve watched you with your studies for years now. I’ve seen you devote yourself to your projects entirely and put yourself through grad school while still working another job _and_ volunteering _and_ doing internships during your every break, and I’m utterly amazed by your devotion and your work ethic and your ability to do everything you attempt with excellence. I have no doubt you’d give Albion your all and, knowing you and your convictions, genuinely do more than anyone else I could hire.”

“Arthur…”

“I mean it, Guinevere. You’re the only person I’d trust with the job.”

“Okay, then.” Warmth rushes through her chest, and she lets go of his hand to wrap both arms around his.

“‘Okay’ as in you’ll think about it, or ‘okay’ as in you’ll take the job?”

She smiles into his arm. “As in I’ll take the job.”

She leans back to see his reaction, but he has her in his arms before she can process the smile that spreads across his face. He twirls her around once and presses a kiss to her lips as he puts her down, pulling back just as Morgana and Merlin pause before turning the corner in front of them.

“Would you two hurry up?!”

“Merlin!” Morgana whacks him on the arm.

“What? I want to get to the Christmas tree lot before it closes. We were too late last year.”

Gwen shakes her head, and they speed up towards their friends.

“I’m sure we’ll be there in time, Merlin.”

“We’d better be.”

“Don’t be such a baby, Merlin!” Arthur teases, nudging his friend as he moves past him. “I’ll race you there if you’re worried.”

“I am not worried.”

Arthur raises his brows at him and takes off running down the street.

“Hey, that isn’t fair!” Merlin objects and takes off after him.

Gwen bursts out laughing as she falls into step beside Morgana. “They’re ridiculous.”

“And I thought I was the most excited about Christmas this year.” Morgana shakes her head, watching them disappear around the next corner.

“I think they’re far more excited than they’re letting on, though Merlin seemed quite enthusiastic when I got home earlier.”

“And you?”

“I’m feeling far more festive than I was this morning.” She turns to smile at her friend. “Thank you for organizing this.”

“You’re not too tired? I didn’t realize this was one of your long days until Merlin called as I was coming over.”

“No, I’m glad. I missed this… all of us hanging out together. It’s exactly what I needed.”

“Especially since Arthur’s finally stopped acting like an idiot?”

Gwen smiles and feels her cheeks begin to heat up.

“I know you aren’t saying anything yet, but I am very happy for both of you.”

“Thank you, Morgana.”

Morgana smirks. “Promise you’ll tell me if he does propose, though?”

“I think it’s safe to say that you and Merlin will be the first to know.”  

“Are you going to say yes when he does?”

Gwen buries her chin further into her scarf and looks down, wishing that for once Morgana would let the topic go.  

“Gwen?! You aren’t going to say _no_?!”

“No! Of course, I’m not going to say _no_. I think we both need some time after all of this, but I can’t picture being happy with anyone else.”

“So we are going to be sisters?” Morgana’s voice gets higher as she speaks, and Gwen can’t help but smile.

“ _Morgana_.”

“I’m sorry - oooooh is that Gwaine?!”

“What?” She looks up, scanning the pavement ahead of them. Arthur and Merlin stand in front of the Christmas tree lot, talking to a slightly taller figure with his arms wrapped around an enormous tree. “I think it might be?”

Morgana smirks. “He looks fine, doesn’t he?”

“Morgana!”

“What? Just because you don’t have eyes for anyone but Arthur doesn’t mean I can’t admire anyone but Merlin.”

Gwen shakes her head. “Come on, let’s go say hello.”

Arthur lights up as they approach, and Gwaine turns towards them with a smile, flicking his hair out of his face. “Ladies.”

“Hi Gwaine,” Gwen greets him and goes to kiss him on the cheek as he manoeuvres around the tree. “You aren’t out with Leon and Percy tonight?”

“Nah, they asked me to pick out a tree for the flat, but Leon’s out with his new girlfriend and Percy’s at the Tokyo office this week.”

“Oooh, Leon met someone?”

Arthur lets out a laugh and wraps his arm around Gwen’s waist. “He’s completely smitten.” She gives him a warning look, but snuggles into his side, feeling just as territorial for once.

“She’s lovely. You’d both love her.” Gwaine turns towards Morgana and smirks. “She’s actually quite a match for Morgana. All snark and wit.”

“We should all do something then.” Morgana gives him a lopsided grin and winks.

“We should. The five of us should go for drinks next week.” Gwaine winks back at her, and Merlin breaks into a cough.

Morgana looks between the two men, and Gwen catches a mischievous glint in her eyes. Not wanting to deal with a jealous Merlin for the rest of the evening, Gwen speaks up, “I’d love to meet her. We could do something bigger. Merlin and I were thinking of throwing a small holiday party at our flat next week, weren’t we?”

She pointedly looks at Merlin as Arthur tucks his face into to top of her hat, muffling a laugh.

Merlin clears his throat and nods, “Yes, we were. You can meet our new cat, too!”

“You and Gwen adopted a cat?”

“Morgana and I did.” Merlin beams.

“I never took you as much of a cat person.” Gwaine turns back to Morgana.

Morgana artfully raises a single brow and tilts her head to the side. “What can I say? I’m full of surprises.”

Gwaine’s grin spreads further across his face. “That you are.” Merlin clears his throat, and he winks at her again, lifting the tree further off the ground. “I should get going. It was nice seeing all of you.”

“We’ll be in touch,” Morgana calls after him, and spins back towards her friends. “Now where were we?”

Merlin grumbles, walking into the tree lot, “I don’t see why you have to be _so_ friendly with him.”

“He’s my _friend_ , Merlin. I thought he was your friend, too.”

“He is! I’m the one who introduced him to the group.”

“I don’t see that there’s a problem then.”

“You were _flirting_ with him.”

“Oh _Merlin_ , just because I speak to a tall, muscular man doesn’t mean I’m flirting.”

Merlin splutters.

“Oh no,” Arthur groans, and Gwen pulls him back.

“Maybe we should leave them on their own for a bit?” Gwen suggests, leading him down an alley of trees.

“I think that would be a very good idea,” Arthur agrees and turns back to their friends, and calls out, “We’ll just -” before noticing that they can’t hear them for all the arguing. “I don’t know why we try.”

Gwen pats him on the arm. “Come on.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

"I can't believe you didn't let me pick the tree I wanted,” Arthur grumbles as they make their way up the stairs to Gwen and Merlin’s flat.

It had started to snow as they’d lingered on the lot, and Morgana had taken charge, declaring that the miniature trees Gwen had been considering were the trees that they were going to take home.

"It was eight feet tall, Arthur,” Morgana says, causing Gwen to picture the roll of her eyes through the layers of pine tree branches between them.

"I think you should have just let him pick it."

"Were you keen on having four giant trees in our living room, Merlin?" Gwen intervenes.

"No. Especially not since Arthur decided to empty the entire contents of a flower shop into our flat the other day.” Merlin huffs, struggling with the small tree in his arms. “I just wanted to see him try to get them up the stairs."

“We could have just had one, big tree. I don’t see why Morgana decided that we need to have four.”

“Because _you_ were complaining about how you’ve never been allowed to decorate a tree before.” Morgana reaches over and flicks Arthur’s ear.

“Ow! Why do you still have to do things like that?!”

Morgana spins around, reaching the landing, and the grins. “Because you still act like a dollophead.”

“A -” Arthur follows her up and splutters. “Merlin!”

“What? It’s a good term.”

Gwen watches her friends, cringing at their exchanges. She and her brother had teased each other as children, but their behaviour had been nothing in comparison to Arthur and Morgana’s.

“Anyway, Arthur, Gwen’s trees were much nicer.”

“Mine was a nice tree!”

“It was a lovely tree, Arthur,” Gwen reassures him. "We can get a big one like that next year."

"When it's just the two of us?"

Merlin snorts and Morgana bursts out laughing. “It is never going to be just the two of you when it comes to the holidays, Arthur, no matter how sappy and hopeful you might be.”

“Yep, you’re stuck with us.” Merlin grins, unlocking the front door.

“And we’re always getting four trees from now on, whether you like it or not.” 

Arthur rolls his eyes as he leans against the door to let Merlin and Morgana pass through. Gwen gives him a reproving look, but then leans in whispers, “We’ll still get our own tree.”

He gives her a soft smile from around the tree in his arms. His eyelids begin to droop, and she remembers Merlin's words from earlier in the evening and has to bite down on her lower lip to suppress a laugh.

"What?!"

"I'm sorry, it's just that you really do look like a puppy."

He pouts and she starts laughing. "I'm sorry! It really is adorable."

Merlin sighs, putting his tree down beside the window. “Arthur, I know you’re sad about your tree, but what I don’t understand is why Morgana gave me the scrawniest tree.”

“I was making a point.” Morgana winks at him.

Arthur snorts. “That you’re mean?” 

“That I love Merlin even if there are taller, more muscular trees out there.”

“Eugh!” Arthur shakes his head. “Gwen, where did you say your decorations were?” 

“They’re in the cellar.” She sighs, getting back up from where she’d perched on the sofa.

“No, you stay there. I’ll go get them.” 

“Do you even know how to get to the cellar?” Merlin interjects.

“I’m not a complete idiot, Merlin.”

“If you say so.” Merlin plops down beside Gwen. 

Gwen tosses Arthur her keys. “It’ll be the green one. 402. Are you sure you don’t want me to come?” she asks, not wanting to send Arthur down on his own. No matter what he says, she knows there's a chance he's going to get himself locked in the basement, but she also knows that he wants to make himself useful and she’d already refused to let him carry her tree home. 

“I’m sure.” He smiles and jogs out of the flat. 

“He’s going to get locked in the basement, isn’t he?” Morgana asks as soon as the door shuts behind him. 

Merlin and Gwen nod in tandem.

“We’ll give him fifteen minutes, then go after him,” Merlin suggests. “Shall we make cocoa?”

“Yes, please!”

Morgana claps. “There’s chocolate liqueur in my bag.”

“Do you have an entire bar cart in there?" 

Morgana smirks. “I came prepared with the holiday essentials.”

 

* * *

 

They decide to start watching _Love Actually_ as they make the hot chocolate and get so caught up in the film that they don’t realize that Arthur’s been gone for over half an hour until the little blond boy on the screen says something overly sweet and Gwen sits up suddenly.

She excuses herself and rushes out the door, cursing her way down the stairs. She knows Arthur’s fine, but she doesn’t want him to think they’d forgotten him… even if they had… momentarily.

She reaches the basement landing, and instead of coming face to face with a locked door, she finds Arthur sitting on the floor next to a stack of boxes, knees pulled up and head in his hands. He looks up as she approaches, and her stomach knots at the slight pink around his eyes.

“Arthur?” She crouches down beside him and places a hand on his shoulder. 

He swallows and holds up his phone. “Agravaine’s gone to the papers. He has them set to print a story about you and Lancelot unless I allow him to continue playing an active role at the bank.” 

She sinks to the ground next to him. “That’s blackmail. We have more than enough evidence against him for him to get away with it.”

Arthur shakes his head and grasps her hand. “There are papers that won’t care about that. You know how much they like to write about me. Your cheating on me with one of my friends will make for a good story, truth be damned.”

“Then you threaten to press charges against them before they go to press.”

Arthur runs his hand through his hair. “Then he’s going to take it to the internet.”

“Then you’ll have more material against him. I don’t see how he thinks he’s going to profit from this.”

“He knows he can’t win, so he’s trying to hurt as many people in the process. Morgana warned me that he was ruthless, but I didn’t want to believe that he would do anything more.”

“You weren’t to know, Arthur.”

“But I should have known. I shouldn’t have just blindly believed the best of him just because he’s my uncle. I shouldn’t have just assumed that he’d do the honourable thing and accept the consequences of his actions. He betrayed me, yes, but he violated you. He proved that he wasn’t even an ounce of the man that I thought he was, and still I assumed that he would accept his defeat.”

“That’s because you’re good man, Arthur.”

He shakes his head. “No. If I was, I would have protected you, and I would have been able to stop him from going after you again.”

“I don’t _need_ you to protect me, Arthur.”  He turns towards her, and she sees the hurt on his face and elaborates, “I appreciate that you want to, but I can protect myself. You got Agravaine to confess today, but we already had a case set up against him before then. He can slander me in the papers tomorrow if he likes, but he isn’t going to hurt me by doing so. I know the truth, and printed words in a tabloid aren’t going to change that. They certainly aren’t going to hurt me, and they certainly aren’t going to tear us apart. They are, however, going to hurt _you_ if you let them, because you’re the kindest, most honourable man that I know… that any of us know… and you can’t bear to see the people you love suffer without feeling you’re at fault for it somehow, and Agravaine knows that, and he’s using that.”

“What am I supposed to do, then?”

“Let him. Let him take it to the papers if he wants to. It’ll add to the case against him, and we won’t be the ones to lose anything by it.”

“But he’ll be dragging your name through the mud, Guinevere. I can’t accept that.”

“Yes, but I can, Arthur. It’s my name, and I can live with it. We’ll both know the truth and Merlin and Morgana will know the truth. I highly doubt any of the people we know and care about are going to believe a tabloid before they believe us. I doubt they’ll even see the tabloids.”

“The public will see them, though, and they’ll be unfairly biased against you.”

“Then so be it. I don’t want to make things difficult for you. I know this is all going to be a PR nightmare, but if this means you keep control of the bank and face less legal hassle, then I can deal with having to prove myself to the public later on.”

“I don’t like this.”

Gwen squeezes his hand and hops off the ground. “I know, but I don’t see that we have much choice in the matter. You’re a good man, Arthur. I won’t see you ruin that to alleviate that when all Agravaine is doing is hurting himself.”

“So we face the storm?”

“And whatever it may bring.” Gwen smiles at him reassuringly and lends him her hand to help him up.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised I'd finish this even though Christmas was over... so here we are in June. They randomly started playing "Santa Baby" at my coffee shop yesterday and after joking about it, I opened my doc for this fic and found that I already had most of the next chapter written.
> 
> There'll be one more chapter after this, and I can promise inappropriate seasonal fluff and a bit more Mergana.

Gwen expects Morgana to be exasperated with them when they return to the flat, but they open the door to find her curled up on the sofa with Merlin and Aithusa, quietly watching the film that goes by on their relatively small screen. Merlin has his fingers idly running through her hair, and Morgana looks so relaxed that the sight brings a smile to Gwen’s face. The ordeal with Agravaine and Lancelot hasn’t been easy on her friends either, and she’s happy to see them catching a moment to themselves.

Morgana looks up as she places her box on the ground and smiles up at her. “It’s about time you got back.”

“We had a bit of an issue to deal with,” Arthur answers and gives Gwen a small smile. She goes to him and snuggles into his arms.

Morgana frowns, sitting up. “Is everything alright?”

Gwen nods. “It will be. Agravaine’s taken everything to the papers.”

“He _what_?!”

Gwen explains as Morgana silently listens, eyes growing darker with Gwen’s every word. When she finishes, Morgana nods once and goes to fish her phone out of her bag.

“Morgana, Gwen decided that –” Arthur begins, but Morgana cuts him off.

“I respect that, and while I agree with her in theory, I have another solution.”

“ _Morgana_ –”

“Trust me.” Morgana smiles and walks out of the room, locking the door to Merlin’s bedroom.

“There’s no stopping her, is there?”

Merlin shakes his head with a smile, and Arthur’s eyes grow wide. “Nope.”

“Do you know what she’s going to do?” Arthur asks, turning towards Merlin.

“No idea, but if I were Agravaine, I would be very afraid.”

“You don’t think she’s going to summon one of her old, sketchy flings and have him killed, do you?”  
  
“Arthur!!”

“Well I don’t know! She can be scary sometimes.”

“You’re the only one who’s that afraid of Morgana.”

“You didn’t grow up with her, Merlin.”

“Merlin may not have grown up with her, but he’s more afraid of her than any of us.”

“I am not! I love Morgana.”

Gwen sighs and goes back to rooting through the Christmas boxes. “I just want this to be behind us.”

“It will be soon enough,” Arthur promises and sits down beside her. Reaching into the box, he pulls out a sparkly, lavender ornament of an indeterminate shape. “What’s this?”

“That, Arthur, is a _Christmas ornament_ ,” Merlin answers, enunciating carefully.

“Don’t be a prat, Merlin.”

Gwen shakes her head at the pair of them and considers the ornament dangling from Arthur’s fingers. “I remember making that, but I don’t actually know what it was supposed to be? I must have been seven or eight at the time, so it was probably trying to be a fairy.”

“Well, it’s beautiful.”

Merlin snorts. “You’re _such_ a sap, Arthur. That looks nothing like a fairy.”

Arthur turns towards him and glares. “You don’t need to be so insensitive, Merlin.”

“ _I’m_ insensitive?”

“Would you two stop it?!” Gwen interrupts. She rifles through a few more ornaments and smiles. “Gosh, I haven’t seen these years.”

“Why didn’t you get these out last year?”

She shrugs. “It still felt too soon after my dad.”

Arthur looks down quietly and nods. He looks as if he’s about to say something, but then the door to Merlin’s bedroom opens and Morgana comes back in, tossing her phone back into her bag.

“It’s all taken care of.”

“What did you do?”

She smirks cooly and shrugs.

“She did order for him to be killed!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Arthur.” She rolls her eyes and kneels down beside the other box, picking up a tiny, jewelled ornament shaped like a crown. “Now shall we get back to it?”


End file.
